I've got testimonies!

As I sat at my desk at work, I felt the urge to call my mum. It hadn’t been long since my last conversation with her but it was always good talking to her. So I called her and we spoke generally about how we were both doing. I told her about my work and the amazing things I was getting to do. I also told her about the idea God had just given me, speaking confidently about it because God had also given me boldness - boldness that awakened me to the fact that anything is possible for me because I’m in Christ.

My mum shared an awesome testimony with me. She had been looking to start an academic program for some time and to do this, she need to fulfill certain requirements. She needed her GPA from her previous program to be higher than the stipulated minimum and she also wanted a program that would offer funding.  After a prolonged period of waiting and inquiring, she finally got her GPA. It was less than what was required but on getting home, she found that there was a mistake in the calculations. By God’s favor and grace, she got it corrected and in the end, her GPA was higher than the required minimum!

This was absolutely amazing and what’s more was that she found a program that met her criteria! It came with a scholarship, was at a renowned institution, and its location would allow her to be close to her house. Her testimony got me really excited. God is faithful! I thanked him for giving us the desires of our heart and that His plans for us are always huge and fueled by love.

Today, I thank Him for inspiring faith in me with all the wonderful blessings he gives me.

In addition, at work I’m doing things that are absolutely amazing and I’m thankful for the opportunity. I’m constantly reminded that, as he told me, His word propels me and sets me apart in everything I do!

I love God! And YES! I’ve got testimonies!

----Tolu Kehinde

Loved By God.

TESTIMONY By Imago Dei

TESTIMONY

So I faced the truth today:

I’d finally hit a brick wall.

I stood face to face with reality, and it made me upset.

But there was no longer any denying it:

I didn’t know everything…

Couldn’t know everything…

Couldn’t control everything…

AND I WAS AFRAID…

Afraid of my shadow.

Afraid of commitment.

Afraid of the mystery

That is my Future.

But the good thing?

…That at the end of the alley,

at this very dead end I’d come to,

and on that very brick wall I now faced,

a sign was suspended.

It was written in vivid red blood,

on a background of pure, white righteousness,

and with gentle direction, it read:

“You might’ve strayed, and reached this wall,

But you can always turn back.

Your exit is from whence you came…”

I faced the truth today:

That I’m OKAY!

…even if I didn’t know everything…

couldn’t know everything…

couldn’t control everything,

It’s ok to be afraid

but it’s even better to admit it

for HIS strength is made perfect in weakness…

So though my heart thumps violently in my chest,

and my confidence drops at the uncertainty of my future,

I will stand…

in faith…

on His word and promises,

Hand him my fears on the platter of my heart,

Blind my eyes to the turbulence around me,

And scream from the pit of my lungs:

I AM NOT AFRAID!!!

…of my shadow

…nor commitment

…nor the mystery that lies ahead.

I AM NOT AFRAID OF MY FUTURE!

⁹But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10)

-       IMAGO DEI

PLEASE NEVER STOP

I'm a KC alumnus and came to US to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering at University of Illinois Urbana Champaign in Fall 2008. I was on fire for God when I left Nigeria and was just waiting to explode for God in my campus. Prior to my coming I had seen tons of Christian organizations in my school online so was even more excited. However on arriving I realized lots of the Christian organizations were not as mature as any I knew  (cos I spent a semester in UNN before coming) or expected. I wanted to talk about the Holy Spirit and all but the Christians I knew seemed clueless. I remember I had to go and talk to one of the guys because I realized he was always uncomfortable around me. On talking to him he told me it's was cos he wasn't sure if I was going to ask or bring up on topic about God or the Holy Spirit or something..,..lol

I was looking for Pastor Chris' messages but didn't know where to get or listen to them but thank God I now know. I finally committed to a church called the Vineyard after my first semester cos they are the closest I have seen to their understanding of the things of God and the reality that the Holy Spirit dwells and works through and in us. I attended weekly bible studies and Sunday services and they were good but I wanted much much more.

After my freshman year, I was made a small group or bible study leader with my friend so we led small group in Fall '09 and also held a weekly prayer meeting for our campus. It was a blessing but after it I was almost getting burnt out cos it was as though I was pouring out into lives but had no source to receive. In addition to this, I was not doing excellently in my classes and had to retake two classes in my Spring semester. By Spring semester not only had the fire of God I had almost totally extinguished, I was almost running from God and was TIRED. I had tons and tons of doubts about almost everything and began to live in fear. Wanted to change my major, was in fear that I would be kicked out of Engineering(interestingly, a friend had a dream in my freshman year that I was kicked out of Engineering), felt I was not smart enough, was skeptical if my student visa will be renewed and was daily or should i say hourly negative(it was horrible).

Then there came your blogs. I don't even remember how I stumbled upon them but your blogs began to stir the Christ consciousness once more in me. I found myself instead of going to bed, staying up late to read your blogs and I remember checking or looking forward to Deji's blogs on Thursdays.

Now, I'm looking back and smiling, laughing and once more beginning to soar high in the things of God. I was not kicked out of Engineering cos God has called me to it, I went for my visa renewal towards the end of May and instead of an interview, I was gisting with the consular officer, I'm yearning to set curves for my coming classes cos the wisdom of God is in me and I shall be the head and not the tail, the first and not the last, I was born to win.

                                                                                                            

I am with you

I would close my eyes and they would be there. I would sense the evil, the immense darkness around and with it would come a paralyzing fear. I would try to shout the name I knew saved - Jesus - but my shouts seemed muffled. In the morning, when my eyes opened, light from the sun would greet my eyes. I would look around and see that they were gone. So I came to believe they only came out at night, that they were only a reality when I shut my eyes. I would go to bed with the light on – I had faith that the light would protect me. Unfortunately, where I lived, the light didn’t always stay on - electricity was not consistent enough to be taken for granted. So there were many times that I would go to bed in the dark, knowing that shutting my eyes could either make things worse or slightly better. Either way, I felt stuck and continued to feel this way for many years. At night, going to bed was a struggle and slowly, the fear crept into the day as well. I always had to be with someone because when I was alone, I felt the fear the most. It kept me from doing so many things; from growing the way I think I should have. Like 1 John 4: 18 says, “…fear hath torment”. Someone called it “morbid fear” and probably thought I would eventually grow out of it – all children did. However, for a terribly long time, I stayed in the cage I myself had helped create by believing that there was always something waiting to attack me.

As I grew older, it bothered me that I didn’t grow out of this fear. Sometimes, it took me ages to fall asleep even though I was tired because most times, when my eyes were open, I felt safer. I prayed and cried about it but nothing seemed to change. I knew many Bible verses that talked about God being with me and not allowing any harm to come to me but none ever seemed to really work. When I seriously rededicated my life to God, every thing in my life improved noticeably, every thing but the fear I felt. At a point, I almost believed the lie that this fear was my “thorn in the flesh”, as Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 12:7, that would not go away. Thank God I knew better than to believe God would keep me in fear to show me His grace was sufficient. Why would He want me fearful when so many times in the Bible He says to “Fear not”? So I continued to wait for the day I would be free of this torment but that day never seemed to come. I wish I had known, really known, that Jesus had already set me free!

I meditated more on the passages that talked about God’s continual presence with me. And as they went deeper into my spirit and I really began to believe them, the fear gradually subsided. Still, there were times I would feel overwhelming fear and would cry because at those times, the Bible verses didn’t seem to work. Through it all, God held my hand. In Psalm 139, David says,

⁷ Where could I go from Your Spirit? Or where could I flee from Your presence?

⁸ If I ascend up into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol (the place of the dead), behold, You are there.

⁹ If I take the wings of the morning or dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea

¹⁰Even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.

He brought me to a place where I began to learn about His love. I began to see Him as my Father. I thought of my earthly father and how he did everything in his power to make sure I was comfortable and safe. Then I thought of God, my Father, the Father to my father. If my earthly father would do everything to keep me safe, then how much more would God? It boiled down to really knowing that God’s love for me was real and that if He had promised to keep me, He would.

1 John 4:18 - 19 says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us”.

God loved us first with a perfect love and when we come to know Him, our love for Him develops and grows unto perfection. As we walk with Him and he shows Himself, time and time again, to be faithful, we trust Him more. As our love for Him becomes perfect, fear is kicked out because we know that He who has called us, is faithful to keep us.

So when fear threatens to come, the Holy Spirit faithfully whispers, “I am with you”. I nod knowingly and shut my eyes because God’s Word says, “…for so he giveth his beloved sleep”.

I am the beloved of God and have overcome fear with the Blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony. Thank you Father!

These Bible verses really minister to me: Psalm 127:2; 2 Timothy 1:7; Luke 10:19; Isaiah 54:15, 17; Psalm 91.

God's Power moves through His people's testimonies

During the very early hours of the morning on 8th of february, I was going through facebook and then suddenly, I saw a new message. You know the feeling of wishing it's a really nice message, all for me to check and it was from the group "I'm a christian because...". I was dissapointed and actually thought about leaving the group to avoid all those 'unnecessary' messages. The message was about a new testimony on the blogpost. Although, it wasn't the first time I was receiving such messages, on this occassion, I decided to check out the blog- little did I know what God had planned out for me. I started reading the various testimonies and I was deeply moved. It wasn't long before I started crying and praying amidst tears. By the time I got to CJ's testimony, I was crying so much and saying lots of things to God. I desired the presence of the Holyspirit- 1 John3:24(Amplified)

²⁴All who keep His commandments [who obey His orders and follow His plan, live and continue to live, to stay and] abide in Him, and He in them. They let Christ be a home to them and they are the home of Christ.] And by this we know and understand and have the proof that He [really] lives and makes His home in us: by the [Holy] Spirit Whom He has given us.

Before long, I was speaking in tongues but I had doubts and I was still praying for what I already had. I always thought that the first time you start speaking in tongues, it would be for about an hour or more, you'll be shouting and stuff like that (remember that this is the case with some people and there's nothing wrong with that). Later that day, I sent a message to Tolu about my experience and my doubts, and her reply was really encouraging and insightful. She gave me lots of scriptures to read about the Holyspirit which stenghtened me greatly. I also sent a message to CJ whose testimony really gave me the burning desire to receive the Holyspirit and hear the Voice of God. He explained so many things to me that centered on the diverse ways God speaks and then he also said the Holyspirit just whispered to him that I was going to hear Him(Holyspirit) tell me things as I read the message. By the time I finished reading, I still didn't hear anything and I was disappointed. All along, I was waiting to hear an audible voice( which I would still hear really soon cos His words are ye and amen and He said my sheep hear my voice), but CJ made me understand that desiring the experiences of others might not always work as He treats everyone differenly and His word(Bible) is one of the many ways He speaks to you(and I've got evidence of that as well). It wasn't until some days later that I understood that reading the message CJ sent about me hearing Him speak was actually Him speaking to me through CJ.

It's been a week now and have developed this strong desire to always read the Bible which prior to now was like a task and routine for me every morning or afternoon, as the case may be. It's like there's so much to know and its so interesting. Know that it's not just about reading the Bible but doing what it says but it's only the Holyspirt our helper that can help you do this, so go ahead, receive Him, make His heart your home as He's making yours His home. John 15:4(KJV)

⁴Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

God loves you and wants you to dwell with Him eternally, that's why He sent His son Jesus to die. I leave you with this, 1 John 3 which is kind of my favourite part of the Bible now.

Tomilola Lawal.

In the place of prayer

Hi Overcomers!!

Before I go on, I'll like you to know who's in charge here. It's not me and since you didn't write this, it definitely not you! This blog is run by the Holy Spirit of the Most High God! Yours truly is only an employee- a very happy one though! He's really wonderful to work with! That you are reading this is no coincidence. Trust me, my Boss knows. He actually planned it.

Now that you know who's Boss, you can relax and keep reading.

A few weeks ago, I asked myself why I was Christian. I only got to think about it for a short while before something else caught my attention. This question must really be important because a few days later, it came knocking at my door again.

You see, that morning, I woke up with the words, "in the place of prayer" on my heart. So I sat down at my cousin's desk, armed with my Bible, my devotionals, paper and pen. I don't remember if I had begun to pray or not but the Holy Spirit brought the question up again. This time I wasn't going free. He whispered, "Write". And that's how I wrote my note on Facebook titled, "I'm Christian because...". That's where all this was birthed: in the place of prayer and by the Holy Spirit.

The note, which I'll post soon, tells about God's love that pulled me out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). It's my answer to the question. With the note, I completed the sentence - I'm Christian because...

The Holy Spirit also gave me Revelation 12:11 which reads, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony...". This is a movement of overcomers! By telling our testimonies, having been washed clean by the Blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we have overcome the devil!

God's love is boundless! He loved us even while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). A Holy God loved us unholy, unworthy people! So He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us that through Jesus' death, we may be reconciled with Him! Then, when we were reconciled with Him, He put His Holy Spirit in us! God's Spirit is in you! Amazing! Now we are called to live victorious lives through Him that loved us (Romans 8:37)!!

This is a movement of testifiers. People who are not ashamed to say what God has brought them through, what He has delivered them from. We are not ashamed to say we are saved! We believe our God and have faith in His words and promises and so He is not ashamed to be called our God! (Hebrews 11:16).

So we are young (if not physically, then at heart) and unashamed and we shout and declare, We are Christian because...

I've done my part, do yours: Complete the sentence!

My Boss loves you and so do I,

✝ Child Of Promise♥